Williams firing by NPR sparks national debate

Commentator Juan Williams was fired by NPR this week after making statements about Muslim’s on Bill O’Reilly’s FOX News show.

Williams, who is also a FOX news contributor, said:

“I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil-rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

He continued:

“Wait a second though, wait, hold on, because if you said Timothy McVeigh, the Atlanta bomber, these people who are protesting against homosexuality at military funerals, very obnoxious, you don’t say first and foremost, we got a problem with Christians. That’s crazy

NPR dismissed him, saying Williams’ statements were out of line. Reaction to NPR’s move has been mostly negative. The Washinton Post slammed the move. So did media columnist Howard Kurtz. CBS News take a look at the controversy.